1. Hello my friend, pleasure to have you on Rotten Pages ´zine. How are you doing today? Let us set the scene first. Where do we find you right now? Please describe your surroundings.
Thank you and hello - I'm very humbled that someone took notice of Embers. I live at home in a private residence with my wife and step-daughter. It's a typical neighborhood....nothing special. My neighbors are all busy but friendly...can't complain.
2. For those new to Embers just explain the format of the band. Is it essentially a one-man project?
Yes it's a one-man project, but only out of necessity. I'm older (48) and I didn't grow up here, so I don't really know anyone, especially someone who is into metal, plays an instrument. So out of frustration I taught myself to play the drums (been playing maybe a year and a half, so there's a lot of room for improvement lol). I've been playing guitar since I was 15, so that's my instrument of choice, but I'd be willing to switch if I had someone to jam with...That's one of my main motivators to use Bandcamp...to meet like-minded people...like you! lol
3. Can you name some of the bands who you first really admired and helped shape your future in music?
Sure...when I was like 10 years old, I loved wrestling...so one day the Road Warriors came out, and they always played "Iron Man" by the mighty Black Sabbath...and up to that point I listened to Duran, Duran, The Police....anything that was on the radio. But when I heard "Iron Man" for the first time, I knew I had connected with something very special. I dragged my dad to the television and was like, "Who's playing that song?!?!?" After that, it was a natural progression...Sabbath...then Ratt (lol)...AC/DC was really big for me...watching Angus on stage...he was so vibrant, you know? I would mow my neighbor's yard, she'd pay me like $10.00 and I'd go to K-Mart and buy cassettes....these bands pretty much became my best friends.
4. As the sole member of Embers, how do you handle the songwriting and recording aspects? What challenges and advantages do you experience as a one-man band?
Being a lot more proficient at guitar, I play around with songs from bands I like or am in the mood for...and then every once in a while I'll come up with a melody that doesn't sound too pathetic, and then start playing different variations of the same melody faster, slower, different octaves....I use Garageband to record everything, and I'm not well versed with that program so it's a lot of trial and error. Then I listen to the music with headphones until I come up with something coherent. I currently only have one microphone, so the drums are recorded but nothing is very distinct. I do really like the drums to sound "thick"...like when you're at a concert and you feel the drums in your chest...I love that. It's advantageous because I don't have to share my ideas with other musicians...but it's lonely and I don't progress as fast as when you work with other people. Plus there's always someone out there that can take an idea and make it 10x more creative, so that's another disadvantage.
5. Can you give us a glimpse into the creative process behind your music?
Well in addition to what's written above, the lyrics come last. My songs are generally ideas associated with existential struggles we all go through...loneliness...life....death...I try to stay away from topics which are too obvious and have saturated the music scene...so for example, instead of singling out a particular religion, I explore the ideas as to what leads people to religion...what they are looking for...what they hope to gain...does any of it matter...My favorite bands are those where when you read their lyrics, you walk away learning something new...or at least think about something that's typically arbitrary and creates a new paradigm...nothing excites me more that other people's ideas.
6. Where did you record your first EP “Deconstructing The Patriacrh” and how did you achieve the sound you did? Was it to your satisfaction? Would you do anything differently next time?
In my basement...which I'm sure explains why it sounds like a cave...it kind of was recorded in a cave lol...but most of the ambience I create is incidental...I have one mic...a laptop...and instruments. I'm definitely my own worst critic...I can't be objective with my own recordings...I become too focused on all the mistakes I make...plus I really push myself when I come up with songs...I always ask myself..."Would I buy this from another artist?" "Would I be listening to it in my car?" For every rhythm I come up with...there are like 20 others that are in the trash...I have little patience with myself when I make something that sounds mediocre.
7. How much time does it take to put a record together? Do you have extra material that’s left out after choosing what fits you most?
Sometimes it takes a day...sometimes a few weeks...there is a lot of time where nothing interesting comes to me...and then one day something "clicks" and I end up liking it...I have one song that just needs vocals....and then pieces of rhythms that I play around with or come back to in a few months..change it up a little...it reminds me of of Tetris...lol....spin it around until it fits and you can build off it...
8. Are there any plans for collaboration with other artists or musicians in the future, and if so, what excites you about the potential of those collaborations?
I really like meeting people who have different experiences than me...I always feel like everyone's life is more interesting than mine...I would really enjoy meeting other musicians...different styles...who knows what could be created...but where I live, well, they look out the front window of their house and believe they "know" the world...to me that's such a waste...the guy from "Chainsaw Dissection" and "Psychotic Homicidal Dismemberment" live less that about 100 miles from me...I've asked him about collaborating but didn't get a response lol...
9. What do you attempt to capture, express or communicate through your music?
My music is my best friend...I am an only child, and I moved around a lot because my father was in the military...so I never developed a way to make friends very much...too shy...too weird...so I went to many different schools...new students...same monotonous cliques...but my music collection followed me everywhere...I'd get lost in the music...the lyrics...the album art...I know Embers seems to resemble black metal the most...but there are different influences in there..."Deconstructing the Patriarch" for example...there's some old school death metal...a little Celtic Frost...a little Sadistic Intent...anything that gets the blood flowing through the veins...lyrically it's an idea where the a father and his son compete for a sense of control...the father who is too set in his ways, inflexible, authoritatively harsh...the son who wants his own identity...how they rip each other apart..and what remains is a relationship that continues on a spectrum...sometimes the lineage ends and the male family line dies...sometimes it lives on...I am estranged from my parents...and my father and I have never really had much of a relationship...at least one that was not built on trust or tolerance...so the song is not just a metaphor...but also a narrative of mine...in this song my father dies lol....
10. Apart from making music, what do you enjoy most about living in Maryland?
Maryland is where I reside...but my heart is not in it...I do what most everyone else does...work...pay the bills...try to carve out as much personal time as possible...time means more to me than anything else...there's so little of it as you get older...I would be living the same no matter where I was...polite and respectful...but I'd rather stay home lol...like I said, my father was in the military...so I don't have much attachment to where I live...but I do prefer more quiet, rural areas...live and let live I guess...
11. What is music for you? Does it bring you some new emotions or it helps you to get rid of some negative emotions?
Definitely...metal to me is like a secret handshake...if I were visiting where you live, for example, and I went to get groceries...maybe I am wearing an Incantation shirt...and someone walks by me with an Obituary shirt...we don't even have to talk...we "know" each other already lol...so no matter the language barrier...metal is universal...and because so much metal comes from so many different parts of the world...it's like I have a small window into another part of the world when I listen to an album...I like that...I'm a very anxious person...so music helps me stay grounded...I was just joking with someone the other day ironically...my parents were taking me to a psychologist every Friday when I was 16...I remember sitting in the back seat with head phones listening to Sepultura's "Bestial Devastation"...definitely helped with the anxiety lol...
12. What does the future hold for Embers? Is it in your plans to release any new material?
Hopefully it's something I can continue to grow and progress...I would really like to continue purchasing more microphones to get different sound quality...I would also very much like to have the opportunity to have physical copies of the CD to give to others....not for the money really because I have a straight job for that...but to give other musicians and fans something to hold in their hands...to stare at or listen to when they feel lonely, sad, misunderstood...if I met someone who legitimately was a fan...I would probably be speechless lol...but very flattered of course...
13. I want to thank you, sincerely, for your time. Before we end our conversation, is there anything else in particular you’d like to share?
Just again a big thank you...I'm so happy to be a part of the upcoming compilation...to be a part of something bigger than me...something more important than me...it's about the biggest achievement for me as a music fan...I hope to continue meeting new people...take care - `K
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